Service Members & Veterans

Connected to service members and veterans for over 90 years

We deeply appreciate the service of our nation’s military. Since 1920, Bank of America has supported our men and women in uniform, and we are committed to connecting them to the support they need to transition back into civilian life. That includes financial education for military families, supporting programs that promote wellness, recruiting and hiring veterans and working with organizations that provide homes to returning service members.

Ongoing commitment to wellness support for veterans

Even our bravest need help sometimes. That’s why we’ve made it a priority to offer wellness support to returning veterans and their families through our support for programs that address issues like PTSD, physical rehabilitation, families connection while receiving treatment and assistance. We are proud to partner with organizations like Fisher House, Wounded Warrior Project®, Welcome Back Veterans, Goodwill Industries and Student Veterans of America.

We’re here in beautiful New York City. We’re in Times Square, and we’re here with our good friends Bank of America, and it’s Fleet Week. We are celebrating service.

Fleet Week involves the Navy, the Coast Guard and the Marine Corps. All of the sea services. It gives New York City a chance to see what a sailor, Marine, or Coast Guard’s men is like, and it links us together as a society.

This is the third year of the Express Your Thanks campaign.

We’re out here to give people an opportunity to express their thanks. For every expression of thanks, we’ll donate $1 to a veteran’s related charity, up to $1 million dollars.

Come on over guys! Upload a photo and get yourself on the billboard.

I think it's wonderful to send our messages from all the people in this country to our troops. And whatever they’re doing to help accomplish that, we’re gonna stand behind it. What’d you write on the board guys?

Sending love and peace!

Troops do so much and they sacrifice everything, so to be able to give back for all the hard work they do..I think it’s really nice. Ha Ha. I made it!

Aahhhh yeahhh..yayyyy

Each time I’ve heard thank you for my service or welcome home..it’s never gotten old. I’ve never taken it for granted. It really has just helped me recover.

It’s so important for us to say thank you anytime we have an opportunity to do so.

When you know your efforts are appreciated, it makes it all worthwhile.

It makes me really proud to know that we live in this amazing country, and I was able to fight for it.

Expressing our thanks in NYC during Fleet Week/en-us/partnering-locally/expressing-our-thanks-nyc-fleet-week.htmlView Videobankofamerica1359940|enter782|cr-en402Connecting people around the world to support our troops during Fleet Week NYC/en-us/partnering-locally/expressing-our-thanks-nyc-fleet-week.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||

lending-a-hand-san-diegodefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/Military/EV_SanDiego_878x494.jpg|Volunteers of America|Lending a hand in San Diego||

SAN DIEGO/VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA-SOUTHWEST/HAWLEY CENTERGerald McFadden, President & CEO, Volunteers of America-Southwest: Today in the United States on any given day, 1.4 million veterans are at risk of becoming homeless. Additionally, there are sixty-two thousand veterans that are homeless. We have to, and can, do better than that. Alfred A. Joshua, MD, Medical Director, Volunteers of America-Southwest: Veterans deal with a number of challenges coming out of the military, and a lot of them suffer from a lot of chronic medical conditions as well as other mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. What happens here at Hawley is due to the distance of the nearest VA hospital being 32 miles away, the tremendous inconvenience of hopping on a bus, which is a two and a half hour ride, each way, to the hospital, it really discourages the veterans from going and actually seeking timely care.

Gerald McFadden: So we thought it was important to bring medical services on-site.

Rick Bregman, San Diego Market President, Bank of America: Bank of America and our quarter of a million associates are committed to giving back to the local communities where we live and work. Today, we’ve got about 50 of our associates, who’ve taken time off work to do exactly that. Our volunteers are incredibly passionate about supporting the military, our military members, the veterans that have sacrificed so much, not just for our and our freedoms, but our country. And we’re hoping that the actions that we are carrying out today inspire other Americans to do exactly the same thing. Our volunteers from Bank of America have actually gotten their hands dirty working to refurbish and working to rebuild a health care facility for these veterans.

Gerald McFadden: So that the veterans can have the benefit of a nice place to live. As a result of the partnership with Bank of America, we’re now able to actually provide medical services on-site to veterans two days a week.

Alfred A. Joshua, MD: With this funding, we really can help veterans with the care that they deserve and really help them lead healthier lives going forward.

Rick Bregman: Supporting the military and our veterans is one of the social issues we are most passionate about. Today is an opportunity for us to show that and to give back to people who truly need us.

Gerald McFadden: We thank Bank of America and the men and women who were a part of today for a really phenomenal experience, one that our veterans will remember for a long while.

Lending a hand in San Diegobankofamerica1359940|enter782|2014_460_self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||/assets/images/Military/EV_SanDiego_35x35.jpgVolunteers

Andy McCawley (Veteran), President & CEO, New England Center for Homeless Veterans: Around 62,000 veterans on any given day in this country do not have a place to live. The New England Center for Homeless Veterans has been here in Boston for almost 25 years, and our goal is to end homelessness among veterans by the end of 2015.

Joseph Patrick Finn (Disabled Veteran), U.S. Navy: I came in here because I needed help with my life. I’ve worked with everyone here, my case manager, and I basically got my life together while I was here. Andy McCawley: We provide housing, we provide support, we provide clinical services, and we provide educational employment services.

Bob Gallery, Massachusetts President, Bank of America: Bank of America has a long-standing commitment to working with veterans and their families. To be able to come to a homeless shelter where we can give back in a very tangible way means a lot to our employees.

Andrew Burns (Veteran), Financial Advisor, Bank of America: I had a lot of help when I got out of the military as far as transitioning, and so at this point I’m just looking to give back and help support and show my appreciation for what the troops are doing.

Andy McCawley: Bank of America’s resourcing and funding has provided for infrastructure upgrades, for furnishings, for specific tools that make the spaces the most welcoming and most effective for veterans who come here for support.

Bob Gallery: Not only do we support the shelter with financial resources, but today we brought a couple dozen volunteers.

Andrew Burns: We did a lot of painting within the new wifi café. We set up a lot of furniture in there – chairs, tables – so that the veterans can go in there, use the wifi café to help with their job search and other initiatives that they have.

Andy McCawley: We are so grateful for the support they provide us, but they have been consistent and long-term supporters of the center, of veterans, and our mission.

Joseph Patrick Finn: This place helped me out immensely. That’s all I could say about that.

Bob Gallery: Veterans are one of the most important populations that we serve as a company. So, every time I have the opportunity to interact with them. In some small way it’s a chance to say ‘thank you’ to them - on behalf of all of us, for what they’ve done for us, and for our families, and for the country.

giving-back-in-bronxdefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/Military/EV_Bronx_878x494.jpg|Giving back in the Bronx|Giving back in the Bronx||

BRONX-NEW YORK/VOLUNTEERS OF AMERICA OF NEW YORK

Dwayne Gathers (Veteran), U.S. Army: It isn’t easy when veterans come back home. My veterans here, they get lost because people don’t understand them. They fall through the cracks.

Mariel Cruceta, Program Director, Commonwealth Veterans Residence: Commonwealth Veterans Residence is located in the Bronx in the Songview section, and we serve 149 formerly homeless adult men and women who are all veterans.

Claire Altman, President & CEO, Volunteers of America of Greater New York: In New York City, 26 percent of our homeless individuals happen to be veterans.

Mariel Cruceta: Facilities like this give the veterans an opportunity to transition from being in the military to being a civilian once again. The lounges serve as a place for the veterans to congregate with each other. It’s kind of like their living room. They really needed a facelift. They needed a little bit of a makeover and some fresh paint to brighten it up.

Jeff Barker, NYC Market President, Bank of America: Today really embodies what Bank of America is all about. We have a group of fifty volunteers from all different lines of business who are dedicating their time to paint and to fix up some of the common areas.

Herbert McClary (Veteran), Credit Associate, Bank of America: I am a veteran myself, so it’s extremely important for me to help out those who maybe didn’t have the opportunities I did coming out. So any opportunity I can get to have an impact, I’m all for it.

Lewis Runnion, Senior VP, Public Policy, Bank of America: Veterans have a great sense of pride, and they don’t like to ask for help. By coming here today and refreshing this facility we make if not like a shelter, we make it more like a home. And it seems less like an ask and more like a transitional place for them to come to get back on their feet.

Mariel Cruceta: Because it really does make a difference. It’s not just putting paint on a wall. It’s making it feel like a place the veterans are proud to bring their family and their friends to see where they live and the place that they call their home.

Jeff Barker: Our veterans have given so much of their lives in service to this country, and a day like today, we’re giving a few hours of our time in service to them. It’s very meaningful to our team, and it really is the least we can do.

Giving back in the Bronxbankofamerica1359940|enter782|2014_460_self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||/assets/images/Military/EV_Bronx_35x35.jpgVolunteer painting a wall

coming-back-wes-mooredefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/Military/Coming_Back_Still_878x494.jpg|Dog tag|Coming Back with Wes Moore airs Tuesdays on PBS||

Wes Moore: No one comes back from war unchanged.

Male Voice 1: You forget how different the world is over here.

[Baby squealing]

Wes Moore: They represent a new generation of warriors.

Male Voice 2: Four men gave their lives for me to do something with mine.

Wes Moore: My name is Wes Moore. We’re capturing portraits of veterans as they share their stories of reentry to civilian life.

Wes Moore: Which job are you the most proud of?

Woman Interviewee: Being a soldier.

Coming Back with Wes Moore airs Tuesdays on PBS/en-us/partnering-locally/coming-back-with-wes-moore.html1359940|enter782|2014_460Coming Back with Wes Moore airs Tuesdays on PBS/en-us/partnering-locally/coming-back-with-wes-moore.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||

wes-moore-exclusive-clip-chrisdefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/Military/ComingBack-Exclusive_Clips_878x494.jpg|Wes Moore|Rejoining the workforce is always a challenge. In this bonus clip, Chris explains his journey.||

Coming Back Exclusive Content TranscriptChristopher Phelan

Sgt. Christopher Phelan (retired), U.S. MarinesOn fitting back into the workforce

Christopher: I was able to find an office job nine to five, uh, doing executive recruiting, head hunting and I, it wasn’t a good cultural fit and it was a little bit unfortunate. Just I couldn’t stand it really, stuck inside behind a desk and um, all the people there are very nice, very understanding and I tried to make friends but I just couldn’t develop that same bond. It was like speaking a different language.

On putting his military experience to work

Christopher: The skill set that I had developed in the military, drastically helped me out in the police force. And I was able to do kind of similar things. Going on patrol, interacting with people and trying to do the right thing whether you’re going to call it justice, law or following orders.

Rejoining the workforce is always a challenge. In this bonus clip, Chris explains his journey.1359940|enter782|2014_460Rejoining the workforce is always a challenge. In this bonus clip, Chris explains his journey._self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||/assets/images/Military/People-Thumbs-1.jpgChris Phelan

wes-moore-exclusive-clip-taylordefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/Military/ComingBack-Exclusive_Clips_878x494.jpg|Wes Moore|Brian explains where he’s found the strength to heal in this exclusive video.||

Coming Back Exclusive Content Transcript(Brian) Taylor Urrela

Sgt. Brian Taylor (retired), U.S. Army

On what recreational softball offersTaylor: It's not about … it's about how it makes me feel. It makes me feel like I'm me again. It makes me feel like I have two legs, it makes me feel like nothing ever happened, you know. Out there on the field I'm better than a lot of the guys you know I'm … in softball, you know obviously not baseball but you know I'm uh, I'm a good player and uh, for people to see that you know, they have these expectations of me. One way you know, they see the leg and then they see me out there and every game it's people are like, “What the hell man. Like that's awesome,” and that's … it uh, it helps me. It helps me get through you know, everything. It helps me feel normal again and, and I mean it definitely does more good for me than it does bad. I can deal with the pain.

On sports as healingTaylor: It's just really, it's really important to have an active, engaging, activity for veterans to do once they're home because I think a lot of guys you know they, they resort to sulking on the couch and thinking about the old days and wondering where their life should be and where it could have been and stuff like that. And you know we … it's happened time and time again, we have these guys that that you know, haven't left their room, haven't left their couch and, and now they're playing softball every week. You know, and it's start small, you know, they come out once and build from there.

Brian explains where he’s found the strength to heal in this exclusive video.1359940|enter782|2014_460Brian explains where he’s found the strength to heal in this exclusive video._self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||/assets/images/Military/People-Thumbs-3.jpg(Brian) Taylor Urrela

wes-moore-exclusive-clip-letricedefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/Military/ComingBack-Exclusive_Clips_878x494.jpg|Wes Moore|What’s the best way to thank a veteran? Latrice gives her perspective in this exclusive clip.||

Coming Back Exclusive Content TranscriptLetrice Titus

Staff Sgt. Letrice Titus, U.S. Army Reserves

On how to say thank you

Letrice: For me, a simple “thank you for your service.” sums up everything. You don’t know if that veteran was deployed. You don’t know if that veteran lost battle buddies while deployed. You don’t know if that veteran is suffering from a mental health issue. You don’t know what that veteran is going through, but you, being a civilian, recognizing a veteran and taking time to say “thank you for your service” that means a lot. Means a lot. It really does.

On doing even more

Letrice: Any veteran organizations, the wounded warrior project, you know…you could donate to that. Any initiative in the community that’s you know geared to supporting veterans. You know, that’s another way that you could reach out and you know to say “thank you for your service”. The end result is still “thank you”.

What’s the best way to thank a veteran? Latrice gives her perspective in this exclusive clip.1359940|enter782|2014_460What’s the best way to thank a veteran? Latrice gives her perspective in this exclusive clip._self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||/assets/images/Military/People-Thumbs-2.jpg Letrice Titus

rebootdefaultPlayertrueblack/assets/images/partnering-locally/local-markets-3/video-stills/reboot_07272012_878x494.jpg|President/Executive Director, Maurice Coleman, sitting at table in front of Reboot sign|Helping Service Members and Veterans ||

BANK OF AMERICARTP SAN DIEGO REBOOT- AS PRODUCED TRANSCRIPT

SUPER: Otto DelaCruze, Graduate of REBOOT

Otto DelaCruze: It was challenging to, figure out what I wanted to do, post-navy. I’ve done air traffic control for twenty years. It’s pretty much what I knew. And I have a family. So I have to worry about, ‘Ok. What am I going to do now to sustain my family?’ The stresses that come with it. The uncertainties, the fears, of change. That’s where Reboot came in.

V/O (Maurice Wilson): Reboot is a three week reverse-boot camp.

SUPER: Maurice Wilson, President/Executive Director, REBOOT

Maurice Wilson: Boot camp changes you from the outside in, through behavior modification. What Reboot does is, helps the person change from the inside out, by using what we call cognitive restructuring. Which helps them redefine who they are. So, in Reboot, you’re gonna define and create your new career path, versus what’s been given to you in the military. And we tell them, ‘Don’t look for a job. Look for an opportunity.’

V/O (Ronne Froman): When you join the military, you are programmed to be successful in military.

Ronne Froman: It’s a no-brainer, when you leave the military nobody ever reprograms you to be successful in the real world. And that’s what we do. Military takes you from ‘I’ to ‘we’. We take you back from ‘we’ to ‘I’.

V/O (Maurice Wilson): We have been fortunate to connect with people with Bank of America here who genuinely care. I don’t even see them so much as ‘Bank of America’; I see people. I just see people caring about people. And we’re on a common cause course. We have over a million unemployed veterans. If you help them make a behavioral adjustment from environment A to environment B they will do just fine.

V/O (Otto DelaCruze): It was such a positive vibe, I can’t begin to explain to you, what that meant or how it felt, because I had never felt that kind of energy before. It let me understand that my mentality, was the key to everything

Helping Service Members and Veterans/en-us/partnering-locally/reboot.htmlGet the whole storybankofamerica1359940|enter782|2014_460Helping Active Duty Military and Veterans Successfully Transition to Civilian Life./en-us/partnering-locally/reboot.html_self1359940|enter782|2014_859||1359940|enter782|2014_581||1359940|enter782|2014_00||

I found myself in Iraq in 2005. I was critically injured after about a year. 13 surgeries, just years of rehab.

I did get hurt down range. Uh, an IDF went off, um, a little ways from us and I just got the repercussions from it but it threw me back on my back.

We got hit on August 22nd, 2004. Three of us were wounded. Everything was quiet until then. And then every mission we would engage in a firefight somewhere somehow. Uh, rockets, mortars, everything.

But there are young men and women out there every day in foreign lands, um, getting injured, getting wounded. Or, maybe no physical wounds, but those are invisible wounds of war.

I think my family and friends noticed it way before I did. I just started feeling really lonely, really depressed.

You know even when I got back, and got redeployed from Iraq, um, it took me a good while to get back to normal.

So the Wounded Warrior Project, they helped me a lot, and they really basically got me back out to the world.

Home Base is one of many organizations nationally that Welcome Back Veterans assists. Bank of America really takes a legitimate step forward and goes beyond just a verbal thank you, and then backs it up with the finances to support the programs that, in turn, support our veterans.

That enables up to get out and speak to the community, and break down the stigma of post-traumatic stress.

Being able to offer the latest technologies and the most advanced treatments for post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury.

The mission of the Wounded Warrior Project is to honor and empower wounded warriors. Our organization allows warriors to engage with one another and realize they are not alone. It allows them to have a better relationship with their families back home and allows them to move into a new career. Our programs and services provide them with new skills and training. The money that Bank of America gives to the Wounded Warrior Project is saving lives.

I think what’s really powerful is being able to see them make a transition into the next step in their lives, whether it be going back to school, going into the workplace, or starting a family.

I think the Bank of America’s Express Your Thanks Campaign has had a tremendous impact on the moralities of young men and women who are over there fighting.

Whether their active duty or a transition, or veterans, or retired or what, but we want to say thanks to them for all that their doing and all that they’ve done.

This is an opportunity for the public to say thank you to the troops that are serving. And for everyone that does that, Bank of America will generously donate a dollar.Come on over guys! Help support our troops today! Let Bank of America donate one dollar on your behalf. All you have to do is take a picture!

I see all of these strangers who I’ve never met stopping to say thank you. It makes me feel humble and even more proud of what I have done.

It means the world to us because we know that there’s people out there that actually care.

It’s never gotten, old. I’ve never taken it for granted. Each time it really has just helped, helped me recover.

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